


Felt the whole world change

by laurissy



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Romance, Sleeping Beauty Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-05-20
Packaged: 2018-03-15 19:22:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3458930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurissy/pseuds/laurissy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I was frustrated, resigned myself to flee and then I felt the whole world change."<br/>Solas needs to fix the mistake he made, help the innocent girl who stumbled into this mess. Varric mentions an old story he'd heard but that couldn't possibly be the answer. Solas/Lavellan one shot set pre game. SolasXLavellan do sleeping beauty, Dragon age style.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

She was lying there on a makeshift bed, stable but still asleep. She was compelling, she had all the marks of a warrior, scars, muscles, weathered hands but she had a delicacy about her, the way her braid was knotted, the softness of her skin. He felt her cheek with his thumb; she seemed to smile as he did so. He wondered if anyone had touched her like this before. He shook his head violently as he took his hand away. How could he think of her like that? He had to leave Adan would take care of her. It hurt to leave though, the pain in his chest was strange and foreign.

He grabbed his staff and headed out the door determined to have another go at closing these damn rifts. It had to be done or at least tried but he had to admit, he had no idea how to close these damn things. His pride was wounded at the admittance, his orb had caused this, and he should have been able to fix this. As he walked he found Varric and Cassandra, she was yelling at him, “Dwarf, how dare you leave my side!?”

“Seeker” Varric spoke with his usual calm and unflappable demeanour. “I merely left your side for a couple of moments whilst you talked to the commander.”

“You cannot just come and go as you please, dwarf” She said angrily, it was clear to both of them that she wasn’t really angry at Varric. They knew she was angry at being helpless and they were right. She’d always had orders, she followed them and all was right with the world. Now for the first time ever, she was forced to come to terms that she didn’t have orders, she was in charge and that terrified her, especially as the world was falling apart. Varric was a convenient form of stress relief which he accepted was one of his new roles. Not that he had a choice. Solas had grown fond of the dwarf; he didn’t seem to conform to what he knew of dwarven history. The contradiction was fascinating and the dwarf had gone out of his way to show kindness towards the apostate elf.

“Seeker” Varric said his voice low and husky “If you want I can tie a bell around my neck and you can find me whenever you want.” Solas laughed at his attempt at flirtation at someone who was clearly furious at him. Unfortunately this laugh meant that Cassandra’s ire was now aimed at him. Varric grinned at him as she turned.

“Where have you been?” she demanded furiously.

“He’s been making soft eyes at Ivy.” Varric said mischievously but a second later he wished he hadn’t as Cassandra turned back towards him. “Why can’t I keep my mouth shut?” he thought to himself.

“Who is this Ivy?” Cassandra asked her voice was thick with exasperation and fury.

Not wishing to further her ire, Solas answered her “I believe he is referring to the girl.”

“Not another one of your stupid nicknames.” Cassandra said deflating slightly.

“My nicknames are chosen in the best possible taste, isn’t that right Chuckles.” He said winking at the elf.

Solas nodded “I’d have to agree Master Tethras.”

“This isn’t important” Cassandra insisted, her voice however was calmer and more rational which caused relief in the two men. It had been a small miracle that neither of them had been executed with their heads on pike. “Do you have any idea how to close the rifts?”

“If the answer was yes, you would have known before now.” Solas said wryly.

Varric sensing the seeker’s anger rise interjected “We should probably go out and find one; you’re not going to figure it out standing around here.” Cassandra looked at the dwarf and weighed up the pros and cons of throwing them both in cells but she grudgingly admitted that he was probably right. Besides she wanted to keep a close eye on this elf, she still wasn’t entirely convinced that he was helping. He could be a maleficarum, keeping the rifts open, so he could flood the world with demons.

They set of together through the snow and ice of Haven. They went towards a rift that they knew were near some ruins. It was the closest and it seemed that the demons had learnt to stay away from this one mainly because there were always at least 5 guards posted opposite it. Cassandra stopped to give a briefing to the guard that had tagged along as they walked toward the rift.

“Good luck Chuckles.” Varric said.

“Why would I need luck?” Solas asked.

Varric lowered his voice as much as he could without causing suspicion, he didn’t want the seeker to think he was conspiring “She thinks you’re a blood mage and you started all this, you need to have some progress, closing one of these things or she’s going to have you tortured for information.”

Varric’s concern for Solas was touching but Cassandra didn’t frighten him. She was just a soldier floundering about in the cold besides he couldn’t really be offended by her suspicion, they were both true. “Thank you Master Tethras but I fear they key to closing these rifts is beyond our grasp.”

“You think it’s her?” he asked. 

“She is clearly connected to these rifts, she has the same power, and if the energy could just be directed then she could be the key.” Solas said with desperation. 

“Adan says she’s recovering” Varric said with his characteristic optimism.

“She is, she will wake up, but it may be too late by then.” Solas looked up at the breach, with shame on his face “The world may be long gone by the time she wakes up.”

They walked along sullenly, “You know I heard this story once about this girl she slept for a hundred years and she woke up after being kissed by a handsome prince.”

Solas rubbed his chin thoughtfully “Handsome prince, that is one form of medicine we have yet to try, you wouldn’t happen to know where we could find one.”

“Yes I would” Varric said remembering Sebastian and his vow to destroy all of Kirkwall “But they’re not all they’re cracked up to be” Varric’s voice was filled with melancholy, his memory taking him back to his home. All his friends were far away; he couldn’t help but miss them and perversely wish they were here. That wish didn’t last long he wouldn’t wish being here on anyone.

“That’s a shame.” Solas said quietly, not wishing to interrupt his companion’s thoughts.

Varric just smiled then he said cheekily “You know it probably doesn’t have to be a handsome prince.”

“I doubt she’d appreciate being kissed by a complete stranger.” Solas said blushing, the idea had some appeal. The girl was so beautiful with her golden hair, her fine freckles, her soft skin even her eyebrows which had at first seemed comically fuzzy, seemed to fit her. It didn’t matter what she looked like, he wasn’t going to kiss a girl he hardly knew.

“I don’t know if it was being kissed by a stranger or waking up to find the world gone.” Varric considered “Then again I think deep down beats the heart of a romantic.”

“I have no doubt Master Tethras.”

They’d arrived at the rift; Solas tried his spells, more out of obligation than hope. The rift seemed to almost be belligerent in its refusal to close. Cassandra had made them stay out there for two hours despite how useless it was. Eventually Solas told her that he could communicate with some spirits and hopefully achieve some insight into the rift. She wasn’t happy about that and she had no right to be. It was a complete and total lie. All the trustworthy spirits had been driven off long ago by the breach. But even Cassandra had to admit that this was pointless so they headed back to camp like failures.

Cassandra dismissed them both as they got back to Haven. Varric went to the tavern, he invited Solas but he politely declined. He watched Cassandra go; he knew what she was going to do. She was going to recommend to Leliana that he be imprisoned. He wondered what form of torture, these human favoured, hot pokers, starvation or tranquillity. Humans had proven to be quite brutal but he couldn’t blame them, they were desperate. As he walked back to the girl he saw eyes turn to him, they whispered to each other. Cassandra wasn’t alone in her views; he could hear the names blood mage, maleficarum, and demon. 

Adan was gone, leaving her alone, surprisingly there were no guards. There must have been an emergency somewhere, a group of men reporting back from a rift, more refugees, there was always something. She was exactly where he left her. He smiled at the thought. It had been a long time he’d returned anywhere and have a friendly face there to greet him. 

“How have you been?” he asked “It’s good to see you, I’ve had a terrible day, the mistake I made is spiralling out of control and these people are going to turn on me.”  
There was a still silence that filled the small room, he chuckled slightly and pulled up the chair next to her “Forgive me for my rambling, dhalen, it’s just I don’t think, I’m going to be able to help you for much longer” he took her hand “Adan is a capable physician, he’ll be here when you wake up, I wish I could have helped you but I need to leave.”

She groaned, he picked up the damp cloth and dabbed her forehead “I wanted to help you, I wanted to put my mistake right but it seems that will be impossible, it’s silly though, I don’t even know you really, maybe you’re just like the rest of the dalish, an arrogant fool.” she frowned at that, he knew it was just the pain but “I’m sorry, lethallan, I don’t really believe that, I’ve been trying to help the people for so long but everything I do is wrong.” She moved her little finger slightly on one hand. It was a good sign.

“There is hope for you, but there is none for me.” He stroked her forehead “Varric said something funny about a girl being woken by a kiss, it’s silly but I guess if I’m going to leave I guess I should try everything.” He looked at her almost as if he was asking for permission, he wondered if this was her first kiss, she deserved much better if it was. He was about to give up on the idea and leave but as he got up, she raised he hand it was only a centimetre, maybe not even that. It was arrogant to think she was asking him to stay, she didn’t even know him. He sat down though.

“What do you want from me?” he asked gently, he touched her lips with his fingers, they were soft beneath his touch, and she smiled. Her lips curving mischievously, he wondered how aware she was of him. “If you keep smiling at me, I will kiss you.” Her smile stood firm, bright and defiant. He kissed her gently and remarkably her lips seemed to react to his. As he backed away she groaned again, “I’m sorry lethallan.” He stepped out of the room “One last attempt to fix this, for you then.”  
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Tauriel was annoyed, the last thing she knew she was at the conclave, listening to windbags puff hot air at each other. Now she was being escorted to a big hole in the sky by a shemlen. Her hand hurt, the mark glowing brighter, the power pulsing beneath her skin. Apparently the only way she was going to survive was if she used this mark to close the breach. She looked ahead and she saw a dwarf and an elf. They were being surrounded by demons; she lifted her newly acquired sword and rushed to help them. Cassandra followed and soon they were all dead, but she saw the rift pulse, more were coming through, she gripped her sword tighter.

“Quickly, before more come through” the elf took her hand and she felt the power in her hand twist in his grasp, she fired it like an arrow into the breach. The power formed a glowing green line connecting her to the rift. She could see the power fluctuate, twist and turn but if she could just hold it steady. The rift burst into light and then miraculously, it was gone. She looked at her own hand in wonder, how could she have done that. She turned to the elf who had guided her she wanted to thank him, for whatever he’d done but all she managed was a goofy smile. As Solas looked her awake at last, he felt the whole world change.


	2. Sweet Temptation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Solas is feeling grumpy, Tauriel tries to comfort him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N So I wasn’t planning on continuing this story but quite a few people followed it so thanks for that. I decided that it would be fun to write some more break up angst.

I stood in a corner, drink in my hand, the wine tasted bitter in my mouth but it was something to do. Everyone else was merry, the music was playing, people were dancing and an air of joy seemed to descend over Skyhold. I hated every minute of it but I felt obliged to attend because the music would fill the whole of Skyhold so it wasn’t like I could escape into the fade. I let my thoughts drift to a memory of a nice quiet corner of the fade.

I remembered one occasion where I’d shared it with her. It was by a memory of a waterfall mixed with the recollection of a long forgotten library. He’d read to her while she rested her head on her lap. I’d stroke her hair as I spoke words that I thought I’d never be able to share with my kind again. I heard her laugh in the here and now; I raised my head to see her.  She was more beautiful than ever, she had gone to the effort of weaving flowers, lavender and daisies into her hair. The effect was magical, the moonlight illuminating her freckled skin, highlighting her muscles as she danced, the soft breeze blowing her white dress. I looked away quickly, praying for the strength to endure this torture.

“How are you, my dear” a voice rang out in, it’s cadence perfectly polished after years of study, yet it somehow managed to convey her deep disrespect at the same time. It was an art I had once mastered but had little use for it recently. Vivienne was of course dressed splendidly in gold and she’d bought a new hat for the occasion.

I debated whether to answer, I was hoping that my silence and demeanour would be enough to put of anyone who wished to talk to me. I’d become very good at making myself as unappealing as possible and my dissatisfaction was plain. But Vivienne clearly wanted something and she wouldn’t leave till she’d got it and while I could gain a small measure of satisfaction in leaving the party and leaving her dissatisfied. That would involve leaving, not being able to sleep, thinking about Tauriel, if I did sleep I’d be beset by desire demons with her face which was not what I needed, it was simply not worth the effort. “I’m well, Vivienne.” I replied which was perfectly true in the physical sense.

“It is splendid to have a party even though this does come quite below my usual standards; I believe in these trying times, we must all make exceptions.” Vivienne said grandly.

I sipped my drink before speaking again “I am sorry that the end of the world has been so vexing.”

“Don’t be, adversity must be endured to ensure stability.” She assured me sweetly, I couldn’t help grimacing as she spoke. “Besides I believe that a little adversity brings out the best in people, we wouldn’t have an inquisitor without it.”

“I dare say you are right” If she was trying to bait me she wouldn’t succeed, I will conquer my feelings and focus on what I must do.

“Naturally, she looks divine doesn’t she?”

“I hadn’t noticed” I lied.

Vivienne laughed “Of course, how could something as mundane as beauty compare to the majesty of the fade.”

I didn’t like being mocked especially by her but maybe this was all she wanted to jab me with a few insults until she found an opportunity to pursue something more worthwhile. She carried on “Maybe that is what’s been distracting you of late.”

“I’ve been distracted by the fact that we’re being pursued by an enemy that cannot die that wants to become a God” I informed her my voice encrusted with bitterness “I’m sorry if that makes me a bad party guest, I’ll have to be put on the blacklist.”  


Vivienne smiled coldly “You already are but there are still some bridges, you have not quite burnt despite your determination” she turned to face Tauriel; I didn’t follow her gaze, looking at the ground in an arrogant show of petulance.  “Love is strange, it is not easily put out and squashed, it will continue to smoulder with little to feed or sustain it.”

“I suppose you are right” I replied coolly.

“Love is a great asset especially in trying times” Vivienne noted “It is strange to see it thrown away.”

Solas looked at her; she was gazing at him, her eyes trained to pick out any bit of body language, facial, expression, vocal inflection. She wanted to know why I’d rejected her not because she cared for either of ours well being. But because only a fool would destroy a connection to the most powerful woman in the world. Vivienne for all her remarks knew I wasn’t a fool. She didn’t understand and this vexed her not that she’d ever express it. Despite her lack of a mask, her emotions were perfectly concealed.

I allowed myself a genuine smile at her vexation “Love is more than an asset but I’m not sure I should expect you to understand.”

Vivienne frowned for a second “Believe me, you understand nothing about me.” but soon her smile was back upon her face and she went off into the crowd, realising that she was not going to get what she wanted. I could understand the feeling; she went to a Duke of someplace and asked him to dance. My smile faded quickly after her departure as I realised it was highly unlikely that anyone would talk to me again. My glass was also empty which meant I had little to do but stand there and watch everyone else have fun.

She’d stopped dancing. She was eating a strawberry, her tongue playing with its delicate skin. Her smile as she bit into its flesh was exquisite. He could see the juice redden her lip as the juice escaped from its cage. I couldn’t help but think of her mouth. The way it would often frustrate me when we had an argument. The way it would soften and curve as we laughed together. The way she kissed me, full of longing and love, which I had not known for a long time. What had I done to deserve access to her? I looked at the ground, wishing that a fade rift would open up and take me away. It would be best for everyone. I had to see this through to the end after all it was my fault.

“Hello” she said

I was started by her arrival; I shook nervously, my mind desperately seeking an excuse to leave. “Do you want one?” she asked, holding my gaze with her eyes that seemed to be made of nature, large and uncompromising.

“What?” I asked confused.

She giggled “The strawberries, I saw you looking at them.”

“I shouldn’t” I blushed, How did she make me feel this way like a love sick boy rather than someone who was twice her age and should know better “It would be…”

She smiled, her mouth taking on a mischievous curve as her delicate fingers picked a strawberry. “If you want one, you should take one.” She lifted it to my lips; the smell was beguiling sweet and sharp. My mouth opened to respond but instead of speaking, I bit into her offering. The taste was sumptuous; it filled my mouth with pleasure. Her fingers were in my mouth, tasting her flesh again felt like being in a desert and finding an oasis. She slowly removed her fingers, now stained red thanks to me. She looked at me those eyes were daring me to take what I wanted. I stepped forward, from a distance she was compelling but closer she was a revelation. Her eyes a potent mixture of green and scarlet, glistening with their own internal light. I stepped closer, my lips brushing hers. It was so simple and natural and I’d been denied so long.

A wash of guilt came over me, I shouldn’t be doing this. It wasn’t right; I’d already indulged myself far more than I should have. I had to stop this. I must travel this path alone. How could I subject her to what I must do? It wasn’t right, she was innocent. She’d had her whole life in front of her.

“I’m sorry.” I said, I turned away and ran, I could her crying behind me but I couldn’t see those tears again. I had to leave, go anywhere. Where could I go? She wouldn’t be there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Got to admit I do like writing Vivienne, I think she’s a really fascinating character and I quite enjoyed pairing her with Solas in this chapter. Also my Lavellan is just a glutton for punishment at this point. Then again I think all of us Solasmancers are. Still waiting on that DLC.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N So that was a lot of fun, I hope Solas didn’t come across as too stalkerish but I just got this image in my head of Lavellan being a bit like sleeping beauty and I liked the idea of Solas being the handsome prince. So I wrote this story, it was also fun to explore the world before the game and just focusing on how screwed everyone is.


End file.
